By Zephyria 
What was the difference in their physiques? If he had to guess, Moon Kyeon-woo was a bit smaller, but the height difference would only be about 1-2cm. Their builds weren’t that different either. Now, it would take someone like Yeom Cheon-ho to make him think, “Wow, that’s a huge build.”
“You’re both about the same!”
“What are you talking about! Open your eyes and look! I’m bigger!”
Yeon-rok tried to shut him up by putting a bite of duck on top of Choi Hwan’s salad. However, without showing any sign of disgust, Choi Hwan happily ate the duck and continued to ramble on.
“That Hyung acts like he’ll do anything, but it’s kind of funny that he won’t do that one thing.”
“Ah, please……”
“They were going back and forth, and then the mood was completely ruined……”
Yeon-rok finally gave up on the smoked duck salad and ran to his room. Choi Hwan shouted from behind, “You’re not going to eat any more of this? I’ll eat it all!” in an excited voice.
The next day, Yeon-rok skipped the late-night snack and came down for breakfast with a slightly empty stomach. He was eating happily, having forgotten about the previous day, when Moon Kyeon-woo appeared in the kitchen. He didn’t eat breakfast either, but made coffee and sipped it while staring intently at Yeon-rok.
His eyes seemed to be assessing his condition. Yeon-rok, nervous that he would ask a question as absurd and rude as Choi Hwan had yesterday, said,
“Let’s go today.”
“Today, what……?”
Seeing his dazed reaction, Moon Kyeon-woo held up a picture of the Cherished doll on his phone instead of answering. Only then did Yeon-rok remember that Moon Kyeon-woo had asked him to pretend to be his boyfriend, using the Cherished doll as collateral. Was today the day? With a bitter expression, Yeon-rok nodded. After reluctantly finishing his preparations, he came out to find Moon Kyeon-woo informing him of the day’s schedule in a businesslike manner.
“I’ll accompany you to the company and then come back in the afternoon.”
Moon Kyeon-woo’s company? Yeon-rok recalled the business card full of English. Unlike Choi Hwan or Yeom Cheon-ho, who had interactions with Moon Kyeon-woo and knew something about what he did, Yeon-rok knew nothing about Moon Kyeon-woo. So, he felt a bit of curiosity and interest, but he didn’t show it and just nodded reluctantly. Whether Yeon-rok expressed his dissatisfaction or not, Moon Kyeon-woo scanned Yeon-rok up and down for a moment, looking thoughtful.
“Wait here for a second.”
Yeon-rok looked in the mirror without much thought. His hair was fine, and his clothes were decent, right? What was he doing? A moment later, Moon Kyeon-woo returned with a baseball cap and a mask in his hands.
“There’s no need to show your face to a stalker.”
For someone using an innocent person for his boyfriend, it was a surprisingly considerate gesture. Of course, from the perspective of someone being threatened, it wasn’t very appreciated……. Yeon-rok pulled down the baseball cap and put on the mask.
When the two of them came out together, there was another brief moment of confusion among the bodyguards. But it wasn’t as bad as when he had followed Choi Hwan. Since neither Moon Kyeon-woo nor Yeon-rok were the type to mess with the bodyguards, an agreement was reached smoothly and quickly.
“Please get in first.”
As soon as they left the house, Moon Kyeon-woo smiled sweetly, making Yeon-rok flinch. And he soon realized that he was starting to act like a boyfriend. As he looked around for the stalker, Moon Kyeon-woo opened the car door for him and said quietly,
“Don’t make it obvious that you’re looking for the stalker and get in quickly.”
Yeon-rok got into the car with a bitter expression. He glanced at Moon Kyeon-woo, who immediately took out a tablet and scrolled through a document written in English. Did Moon Kyeon-woo know something about Yeom Cheon-ho’s family affairs? He was curious, but unlike Choi Hwan, he didn’t think Moon Kyeon-woo would answer even if he asked, so he held back.
It took about 30 minutes to reach the research center. As soon as they got out of the car, Moon Kyeon-woo affectionately wrapped his arm around Yeon-rok’s waist. Yeon-rok, who was admiring the surprisingly large research center, jumped at the arm wrapping around his waist like a snake.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing? You have to pretend to be my boyfriend.”
“Ugh…….”
“I’m not exactly thrilled about doing this with someone who’s not my boyfriend either.”
“Do you think you’re more uncomfortable than me, who’s being blackmailed into this?”
As they bickered, they reached the main gate. Near the main gate, in a well-manicured flower bed, the words ‘Genexa Biotechnology’ were carved largely on a granite slab. People on their way to work passed by, each holding a coffee cup. Because it was a foreign-affiliated company, foreigners were seen quite often.
Since becoming a Name partner, he had experienced many unfamiliar environments, but the research center was by far the most unfamiliar. Yeon-rok was slightly intimidated as he was dragged inside. Moon Kyeon-woo, crossing the spacious lobby that smelled of new construction, headed straight for the security desk.
“Hello. I have an accompanying visitor. I made a reservation in advance under Moon Kyeon-woo.”
The security guard in uniform greeted him and quickly checked the monitor before asking.
“Good morning, Senior Researcher Moon Kyeon-woo. Is your companion Lee Yeon-rok?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Lee Yeon-rok? Could I see your ID? And please lower your mask for a moment.”
After completing the security procedures, the security guard handed over a visitor pass. Moon Kyeon-woo took Yeon-rok to the entrance gate and explained in a friendly voice.
“You can scan it here like a transportation card.”
Then, he put up the mask that he had forgotten to raise, treating him very affectionately. Yeon-rok, very unfamiliar with Moon Kyeon-woo’s attitude, scanned the temporary visitor pass. The gate opened with a beep.
“Are you thirsty? Do you need anything?”
Since it was the first time they had been this close, Yeon-rok realized for the first time that Moon Kyeon-woo’s voice was quite sweet and resonated in his ears, that his eyelashes were longer than he thought, and that he smelled quite nice.
“No, just go.”
Yeon-rok, who was still stiff and unable to adapt, shuddered and broke away as soon as they reached the personal office. His ears were burning for no reason. Moon Kyeon-woo, who immediately changed his attitude as soon as he closed the office door, moved away and sighed.
“I feel sorry for Hwan for no reason.”
“How about feeling sorry for me too?”
Yeon-rok glared at Moon Kyeon-woo and scanned the surroundings. The inside of the office was very neat. A large whiteboard hung on one wall, and next to it, all sorts of file folders and books were neatly arranged on a bookshelf. Several potted plants were placed here and there, refreshing the atmosphere that could have been stiff. While Moon Kyeon-woo took off his coat and put on a white gown, Yeon-rok discovered a familiar object.
‘Lime!’
His Cherished doll was sitting quietly in the display case. He quickly ran to open the display case door, but it was tightly locked and only rattled. Should he just break the glass? But where did Lime get that scarf……. After staring at it for a long time, he realized it looked like a men’s handkerchief, and at that moment, he heard a knock.
“Senior Researcher Moon~. May I come in?”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Moon Kyeon-woo, who had answered, reached for the mask that Yeon-rok had lowered because he was uncomfortable. As he raised it, he almost got his finger bitten by the person who was upset because his Cherished doll had been taken hostage. After staring at Yeon-rok with a disgusted expression for a moment, he said to the door,
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a researcher with a file folder under his arm came in and widened his eyes.
“Oh, you had a guest. Should I come back later?”
“No, it’s okay. I mentioned it before, right? This is my boyfriend and Name partner.”
Then, Moon Kyeon-woo smiled shamelessly and said,
“My boyfriend even sent me a doll so I wouldn’t be lonely.”
“No wonder! I was wondering why there was suddenly a doll I hadn’t seen before. So that was that doll.”
Yeon-rok’s Cherished doll had suddenly been transformed into a doll filled with love, sent by his nonexistent boyfriend. Moon Kyeon-woo went even further, affectionately wrapping his arm around Yeon-rok’s stiff shoulders and saying,
“He’s very shy and has a bit of social anxiety, despite being handsome. Please understand if he doesn’t talk much.”
On the surface, he was the most devoted fool in the world. Because he had unintentionally been given a silent persona, Yeon-rok couldn’t even greet them and just kept making a bitter expression under his mask. The two soon began a conversation mixing complex scientific terms that sounded like alien language. After the researcher finished his report and left, Yeon-rok sneered.
“Are you always this nice to your boyfriends? Like your last boyfriend.”
“……How do you know about my ex-boyfriend?”
Moon Kyeon-woo looked at him with a suspicious gaze, making Yeon-rok feel absurd.